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Check it...and Keep the Check!

April 30, 2018

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If you don’t check federal and state exclusion lists, you may not be able to keep the payment checks! The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required by law to exclude individuals and entities from Medicaid, Medicare and all other Federal Health programs if they are convicted of certain criminal offenses including Medicare or Medicaid fraud, patient abuse or neglect and certain felony convictions. In addition, the state HHS can exclude any person or entity from participation in their Medicaid program.

Any entity who hires or contracts with a person on the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities is subject to civil monetary penalties and criminal sanctions. The penalties are in addition to the return of any money paid by federal payers in which the excluded individual furnished, prescribed or directed services. Providers are subject to audits and recoupment of any Federal funds paid for those services. To avoid these penalties, providers should:

This is not legal or financial advice, and is not intended to substitute for individualized business or financial judgment. It does not dictate exclusive methods, and is not applicable to all circumstances.